when France sneezes, the rest of Europe catches cold.explain.
Home
/
Social Sciences
/
when France sneezes, the rest of Europe catches cold.explain
when France sneezes, the rest of Europe catches cold.explain.
Sign Up to our social questions and Answers Engine to ask questions, answer people’s questions, and connect with other people.
Login to our social questions & Answers Engine to ask questions answer people’s questions & connect with other people.
When Metternich used the metaphor "when France sneezes, Europe catches a cold", he was referencing both events. When France's people rebelled against the absolute monarchy, the rest of Europe was tangled in the mess. When Napoleon seized power as dictator in France, he brought his war and political goals all around Europe- from trying to plant his brothers and sisters on the thrones of other European kingdoms to attempting to expand French boundaries as far as Moscow.
This metaphor can also be used to explain the series of liberal reforms that broke out in Europe a few decades after the French Revolution- most notably are the Revolutions of 1848, where liberal-backed revolutionaries fought back against the monarchies in their respective countries. Many countries saw attempts at political reform or revolution, including Poland, Austria, Italy, and Russia among others. These reforms were also partly inspired by the events of the French Revolution, which lends into Metternich's metaphor about how France impacts the rest of Europe.